FOI request (FOIR-725987992)

Property purchase and council tax

Requested Wed 25 June 2025
Responded Wed 17 September 2025

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Response

Please accept my apologies for the delay in responding. 

1. Hastings Borough Council have purchased 11 x 3 bedroom homes directly from Southern Housing. We produce an All in Cost for properties which includes all costs to source, acquire and refurbish a property so that it is ready to tenant.

A full reconciliation hasn't taken place for these properties, but the forecast All in Cost across the 11 properties is £3,080,000 which averages £280,000 per home.

As we have an active acquisition programme, further breakdown on these costs is considered commercially sensitive and is being refused.

NOTICE OF REFUSAL

The information you have requested in relation to a breakdown of costs is commercially sensitive and falls under Section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act – Commercially Sensitive Information

Information prejudicing commercial interests – commercial interest relating to an organisations commercial activity and may include trading activity procurement and relationships with third parties.

 

The exemption afforded by Section 43 is subject to what is known as the ‘public interest test’.  When applying the test in a particular case a public authority is deciding whether the public interest is better served by non-disclosure than by disclosure. 

 

Although the Freedom of Information Act does not define ‘in the public interest’, there is a presumption under Freedom of Information that openness is in the public interest.  In applying the public interest test a public authority will take into account the distinction that has been often made by courts between things that are in the public interest, and things that merely interest the public.  Where applicants have not identified public interest considerations succinctly or accurately, the public authority has a responsibility under the Act to make their own assessment of the public interest considerations in the particular case.

 

We have identified the following public interest factors that may be seen as encouraging the disclosure of information:

 

a)    accountability of public spending

 

We consider these factors to be of limited relevance in relation to the information in question.

 

Public interest factors seen as encouraging non-disclosure are, generally, the exemptions themselves.   In consideration of this matter we came to the following conclusions:

 

a)   ensuring that companies are able to compete for business fairly

b)   damage to reputation and/or financial interests

In weighing the factors for and against disclosure we have concluded that the likely benefit to the applicant and the wider public of disclosure is outweighed by the likely prejudice caused by such disclosure and that therefore the public interest is better served by non-disclosure. 

 

For the reasons given above we will not be communicating to you the information you have requested.

2. Information not held - this is not a request for recorded information. 

3.

Orbit have paid a minimum of £180,425.00

Southern Housing have paid a minimum of £115,478.00

Please provide a breakdown to describe how many empty properties they currently hold.

Answer:

Orbit – 86 Empty Properties

Southern Housing – 117 Empty properties

Specifically please tell us how much council tax Orbit has paid for the empty properties in Clifton Court and Earl Street.

Orbit has paid for:

Clifton Court, a minimum of £129,867.00

Earl Street, a minimum of £12,931.00

• Please note the above figures do not include any premium charges raised.

4. Information not held - this is not a request for recorded information. .